ABOUT TEDxBROADWAY

TEDxBroadway seeks to bring together experts from a wide range of fields to create, share, and stimulate dialogue about making Broadway the best it can be.

Organizers of TEDxBroadway:

Damian Bazadona is the founder and president of Situation — a digital agency that is best known for helping brands build passionate communities through digital-first marketing strategies.

Over the years, Damian has worked with some of the world’s leading brands including Stoli Vodka, The Metropolitan Opera, HBO, Major League Soccer, National Geographic, and The Ad Council. His agency has also been honored with numerous workplace awards from Crain’s, Best Companies Group, Cynopsis, Digiday, and Fortune. Damian himself was honored by Cynopsis with the Social Good Leader of the Year and HR Visionary of the Year awards.

Outside of Situation, Damian acts as a speaker and thought leader, and has organized one of the longest-running TEDx events—TEDxBroadway. He also passionately invests in arts education and community involvement—he founded the 501(c)(3) corporation Situation Project, the Situation Cares/Ian Bennett Memorial scholarship, and the Situation Interactive Prize for Experience Research at SUNY Albany. His 501(c)(3), Situation Project, was even invited to participate in the White House’s inaugural SouthxSouthLawn in 2016.

Damian believes that the power of the human spirit is remarkable, and he brings that conviction into his company and to his clients.

Jim McCarthy is the co-founder and CEO of Goldstar (www.goldstar.com), a company that sells millions of live event tickets to millions of people on behalf of more than 5,000 venues and producers each year. An e-commerce veteran, Jim has spent his entire career in high-growth businesses and likes to share his knowledge and insight with others. He's the editor and main contributor to SellingOut.com a website for live entertainment and arts marketers. He's the curator and co-founder of TEDxBroadway the sold-out annual event dedicated to the question: "What's the Best Broadway Can Be?" He's spoken at conferences all over the world, including TED, SXSW, INTIX and more. His articles have been in Forbes, Fast Company and Business Insider. About Jim, Bob Lefsetz has said, "Jim McCarthy is smart, he'd win in any world, not only via his brain, but his hard work and dedication." He's the organizer of the Pasadena Entrepreneurs' MasterMind Meetup, which Pasadena Business Now noted, "Jim McCarthy, CEO of Goldstar,discussed his personal philosophy of business and leadership. His stories of humanity and giving brought tears to many eyes and motivated all to do more for more. It was clear to all why Jim's MasterMind groups have a many-month waiting list to learn from him and his vision and insight." Jim is also a very active member on the Board of Directors for Union Station Homeless Services as well as the Pasadena Playhouse. He studied English at Harvard University and received an MBA at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Jim recently earned his black belt in Northern Eagle Claw Kung Fu.

About TEDTED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.

About TEDxTEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading.” The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.